John Q. Public

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noun

the average or typical U.S. citizen: an entertainment aimed at Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Public.

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Origin of John Q. Public

An Americanism dating back to 1935–40

Words nearby John Q. Public

John o'Groats, John o'Groat's House, John Paul I, John Paul II, John Paul II, Pope, John Q. Public, Johns, Johnson, Johnson, Andrew, Johnson City, Johnsonese

How to use John Q. Public in a sentence

When cities started adding chlorine to their water supplies, in the early 1900s, it set off public outcry.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
Not to be left behind, progressives in neighboring Wisconsin clamored to join the cutting edge of public health.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
Just the hard-on before you shoot unarmed members of the public.
'Babylon' Review: The Dumb Lives of Trigger-Happy Cops|Melissa Leon|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Great American leaders have long contributed profound thoughts of tremendous consequence to the public discourse.
Huckabee 2016: Bend Over and Take It Like a Prisoner!|Olivia Nuzzi|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Saved from the public gallows, Weeks was virtually exiled from the city, and wound up in Mississippi, where he raised a family.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
After all, may not even John Burns be human; may not Mr. Chamberlain himself have a heart that can feel for another?
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford
As such it is now presented to the public for whatever meed of praise or censure it is found to deserve.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
Five of the number had studied with Liszt before, and the young men are artists already before the public.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
Many of these have been seen in the Corcoran Art Gallery and in other public exhibitions.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
It was close upon twelve o'clock, and the "Rooms" had been open to the public for two hours.
Rosemary in Search of a Father|C. N. Williamson

Other Idioms and Phrases with John Q. Public

John Q. Public

see under John Doe.